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Story posted December, 2007. Results updated February 28, 2012.

Results:
• The school outperformed the state on reading, math and science standardized tests in 2011, despite serving a more disadvantaged student population
• Students tested in 2010 in Grade 10 showed gains across subjects in 2011 in Grade 11 

  Ten years ago, Cottage Grove High School, named for the Oregon lumber town in which it's located, was little more than a pit stop for many teenages who'd eventually drop out and work in the mills.  Today, most of those mills are shuttered, and the 900-student school--brimming with AP and professional-technical courses and equipped with robotics, plastics and computer labs--graduates more than 95 percent of its students.

"We've moved the culture at CGHS from one of it not being cool to succeed to a culture of all students being successful. And the supports are in place to make sure this happens," says Krista Parent, the superintendent credited with helping transform not only CGHS but the 11-school South Lane district, in which 55 percent of its 2,900 students receive free or reduced-price lunches.

 One of the supports she mentions is teachers, who've helped raise once-abysmal reading and math test scores to the point where they now exceed state averages in grades K-12. Although those scores helped Parent, who took the helm in 2001, earn the title National Superintendent of the Year last spring, s he refuses to take full credit for the honor, bestowed by the American Association of School Administrators.

"Almost everything we do here, we do as a team" she explains, citing a collaborative effort that has empowered teachers.  Early on, Parent removed "business" items from the district's twice-monthly administrative meetings, focusing instead on professional development--specifically, literacy strategies derived from books she'd recommend.  The principals would then share what they'd learned with their teachers, who, in turn, honed their curricula and classroom practices as the strategy sessions continued.  

Literacy soon became the foundation of Parent's district-improvement plan, as revitalized educators conducted back-to-school strategy sessions, created book clubs, and ensured that all staff--from aides to phys-ed instructors--encouraged and helped students to read.

Collaboration is applied to other subjects as well. Case in point: a new National Science Foundation-sponsored math program, in which teacher-leaders districtwide attend half a dozen training sessions and a summer institute together, forging a close-knit, creative community. In an effort to coordinate math lessons that span grade ranges, for example, one 1^st and one 6^th grade teacher traded places for a day, then shared what they'd learned afterwards.

Parent has also led efforts to land $7 million in grants thus far and, perhaps most impressive, funding for the $27 million facility now housing CGHS, where the Culture of Achievement Team-comprised of 35 students, parents, teachers, and administrators-meet to shape the environment. Teenagers whose options were once limited can now choose from eight AP classes as well as courses in engineering, physiology, and tourism management, to name just a few.

"We are constantly reading and sharing our ideas," Parent says of the district's educators. "You never know when a great idea is going to come along and where it might come from. You have to be open to learning and willing to try new things, even when it is hard work."

Further details about this story can be found in our source:
Jay P. Goldman, on behalf of The School Administrator, "To Reach Summit, Start Early and Move Fast", May 2007

For additional information, please contact:
Krista Parent
Superintendent
kparent@lane.k12.or.us

Photos courtesy of South Lane School District and Cottage Grove High School